(The Center Square) – Several state and federal agencies have reached an agreement to turn their technique into cleaning up radioactive and chemical waste buried beneath Washington’s Hanford, a decommissioned nuclear production complex.
The tripartite agreement reached Monday between the U. S. Department of Energy and the U. S. Department of Energy. The U. S. Department of Ecology, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working together. The U. S. Department of Ecology’s U. S. move follows years of negotiations that began in 2020, according to the Department of Ecology’s website.
“This agreement on how to safely dispose of the 56 million gallons of tank waste at the Hanford site is a step in the right direction,” said U. S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. , ranking Senate member on energy. and the Committee on Natural Resources, in a Tuesday press release. “As the tank waste control project moves forward, I will continue to ensure that protecting the Hanford and Tri-Cities network is the most sensible priority. “
Under the terms of the agreement, Hanford will maintain existing timelines to begin treating low-level waste in 2025 and high-level waste in 2033. However, the agencies rejected the goal of cutting the 177 underground garage tanks by 2040.
Instead, regulators will install only 22 garage tanks until 2040, employing an injection method that hardens the waste before disposing of it off-site.
Last September, the U. S. Government Accountability Officepublished a report acknowledging that it would take decades and $300 billion to $640 billion to completely clean up the Hanford site. However, the GAO noted that, overall, it could be less costly if “alternative approaches” were adopted. were used.
While 22 reservoirs is a step back from the agencies’ initial target, the revised technique sets a more realistic target, the Ministry of Ecology announced.
However, TPA has delivered on other promises by ensuring that the new “vitrification” facility will begin treating low-level waste in 2025, after more than 20 years of construction. Vitrification necessarily converts waste into glass for permanent disposal.
In addition, the cleanup will use a new “direct feed” approach to separate the high-level portions of chemical and radioactive waste; The remaining low-level waste will then be immobilized in glass for disposal by vitrification, according to the Department of Energy.
By the revised deadline of 2040, TPA agencies plan to complete the structure of another million gallons of multipurpose waste deposit. The plans also include the structure of a vault reservoir formula and an effluent or liquid waste control facility to treat waste level.
“We have negotiated a sustainable framework that aligns our agencies and accelerates work while maintaining robust cleanliness. The communities we serve deserve nothing less,” said Laura Watson, director of ecology. “This agreement will allow more waste to be removed from the tanks. “recovered, treated and disposed of in a timely manner and will give us a roadmap for the cleanup of Hanford through 2040 and beyond. “
Beginning May 30, a 60-day public comment period will follow, during which the three agencies will hold briefings throughout Washington state and Oregon. Once completed, agencies will consider a reaction before a federal district court accepts any changes.